Jaan-Mati Punning

Jaan-Mati Punning (13 March 1940 – 21 November 2009) was an Estonian geochemist, paleogeographer and ecologist. His work focused on isotope geochemistry, radiocarbon dating, Quaternary and Holocene environmental history, and long-term human impact on northern European landscapes and lakes. He was professor of geoecology at Tallinn University, director of the Institute of Ecology from 1992 to 2005, and president of the Estonian Geographical Society from 1985 until his death.

Life and career Punning was born on 13 March 1940 in Mooste, in present-day Põlva Parish.

His published work covered Late Pleistocene glaciation chronology, Holocene Baltic Sea level changes, the dating of peat deposits, pollen-based reconstruction of land-use history, and changes in lake levels and sediment composition in Estonia, including Lake Peipsi. Memorial notices published after his death credited him with establishing a leading isotope laboratory at the Institute of Geology and with publishing more than 500 scientific papers. He also received the Estonian Academy of Sciences Medal and, in 2001, the Order of the White Star, 4th Class.

After his death, Punning's family established a named fund and scholarship in his memory to support students and young researchers in natural geography and related disciplines.

Selected works Pleistocene glaciation chronology of Spitsbergen (1979, with Leonid Troitsky, G. Hütt and Raivo Rajamäe) Holocene eustatic oscillations of the Baltic Sea level (1987) Possibilities for detailed dating of peat bog deposits (1993, with Mati Ilomets and Tiiu Koff) The last hundred years of land-use history in Estonia as inferred from pollen records (2002, with Tiiu Koff) Holocene lake level fluctuations recorded in the sediment composition of Lake Juusa, southeastern Estonia (2005, with T. Koff, E. Kadastik and A. Mikomägi) Surface sediments of transboundary Lake Peipsi: composition, dynamics and role in matter cycling (2009, with Anto Raukas, Jaanus Terasmaa and Tiit Vaasma)